The battle to organize will be won!
('Cause we have two weeks without an auction)

So please enjoy the photos.
More will be coming.

I'm working to get the blog into shape.
I'm fighting to get the house into shape.

The house has to get better organized,
or someone may get lost in it.

Manual typewriters were one of the things that I tried to avoid in high school. Our typewriter room had a limited number of electric typewriters, so everyone would race to get to the room to avoid the manuals. I was often slow, dragging my feet to class, so often I found myself tap, tap, tapping at one of these.

Fortunately, my typing skills have improved since high school, but my fear of these remain. I was so thankful for the wonderful business teacher we had and her patience with my terrible typing abilities. Thank you, Mrs. Shotts, for teaching me to type, which is so much faster than my fingers could ever write!

I love Pepsi crates!

I think it's because I remember Friday nights, sitting in front of the television with my grandpa, eating hamburgers and potatoe chips with our glass bottles of Pepsi.

The bottles always had a little bit of slush at the top. It was perfect!

My grandparents were always paid on Fridays, so Friday nights were there "go to town" nights. We'd all load up in the car and head for the bank, then to Ben Franklin's aka The Dime Store, then off to Lemon's IGA for groceries.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Today I began moving items into the booth at the Antique Mall and Flea Market.

The space is still a little (maybe alot) bare.

Many more boxes will be sorted to find just the right things for this shop.

This is what the booth looked like this morning when I arrived.

The smaller cabinet was originally bare pine.

The larger cabinet was a stained dark wood.

I painted both of these.

The white paint made such a difference in both of these cabinets.

The space is so much brighter now.

Wanna see how far I got today?

After two carloads, this is what I've accomplish.

Do you see the window?

It's wonderful!

I'm so happy to have a booth with a window.

The middle of the row of booths is a little dark.

My booth might get lost in the middle.

Natural light will make everything look so much better.

I'm not thrilled with how this turned out, but it'll work for the weekend. Monday morning, more items will be brought in and then it'll be time to rearrange and figure out just where to place everything.

I was so excited about the auction on Saturday and it wasn't a total wash out, but it wasn't all that I'd hoped. The bonus to that, of course, is that not much money crossed my hands, so my pockets still had a bit of a jingle in them when making the trip home - enough for ice cream.

Although the auction was way deep in the country, surrounded by beanfields, more people than I'd hoped had braved the rainy day to see what bargains they could find. Our box was placed in the shade of a tree for all of our discovered treasures to be stored in, but the box remained empty for quite a bit of time, just sitting waiting patiently for the right bargain to come along.

In the end, we called it a day before the furniture was even sold. My youngest had accompanied me as my extra hands for the day, as the bf was off chasing livestock that had made it's way into fields it shouldn't have been prancing through. He and I both were quite ready to go home.

A stack of coal buckets and a couple of odd looking buckets were added to our pile. I'm not sure what the buckets with the long handles are for, but I'm sure the FFIL (future father in law) will be able to tell us. Perhaps they were used for milking the cows or coal ashes. I'm really quite curious about these. Two of the coal buckets are completely rusted through, but they'll look lovely with a pot of petunias filling them.

This is a tree that was used when hitching horses. Should I hang it on the wall with a photo on each arm? More of these were auctioned off and there's still a mark on the seat of my pants from kicking myself for not getting a few more. The price was right, but I wasn't fast enough. I've got to get more aggressive in my bidding!

What in the world am I going to do with these? Suggestions, anyone?

The swing and potty chair were both only a dollar, which I'm sure to get a dollar's use out of them, but it's just finding that use that is the question. Do I leave them as is or slap a quit coat of green on them, add some whitewash and a little distressing? There's a can of green oops paint that has been calling to me, begging to give new life to something. Maybe, just maybe, I'll use it on these and another wooden potty chair that is tucked in the garage.

Did you find any good items while shopping this weekend?I'd love to hear about them.Please comment below or tweet me on Twitter.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Tomorrow there are two auctions that I'd love to be attending. Of course, the auctions are at the same time and not in the same town, so hitting both of them will not be an option.

The photos and listings are available online, so I've been checking out what both have to offer.

One of the auctions is billed as "Generations of great antiques & furniture from a long time New Canton family....great country auction!" Yep, sounds like a winner. The photos are what really sold me on this auction over the other. Check these out!

Sure everything in the pics needs a little....okay, tons of elbow grease applied to it, but it's the age and the kind of furniture that have me intriqued.

Big pieces are not what bring me to an auction. I really don't go looking for them, but sometimes they find me.

I never know just what I'm going to leave an auction with until the car is packed, jammed, and filled to the top. And, of course, the bf is standing at the bursting car, shaking his head in disbelief.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

To top it all off - my favorite local shop has been busting out all kinds of wonderful items this week. The guys work hard to organize everything, but with inventory changing daily and items arriving all jumbled in boxes, it's all very difficult. I'm not scared to jump right in and find what's buried underneath. I'll show you a few of the vintage goodies that I've discovered.

This chair was in a pile outback waiting to be sorted. One of the guys told me I had to go check them out. It's a little rough, but the seat is solid. Definitely in need of a little TLC, but I'm so loving it.

I love this painting. Fruit isn't quite my thing in a painting, but I do love the flowers. The pink flowers are just gorgeous. These remind me of the huge peonies that would bloom in my grandmother's yard. The peonies smelled and looked so lovely, but were always covered with ants, so you had to be careful sniffing them too closely. Grandma always said the ants pushed open the flower petals making the flowers open into the huge blooms that we loved.

The frame needs a bit of a touch up. It's just too dark for me. Maybe painting it white would make the white in the flowers pop out more. Here's a close up of the pink flowers.

Sewing machine drawers have been falling into my lap lately. Usually, the drawers need a bit of cleaning and shining, but this set of drawers have had their hardware removed and a few have even been stripped of their original paint.

Now what to do with these? Painting, of course! These little guys are going to get a paint job to bring them all together. Aqua or cream? I'm leaning more toward cream with a bit of sanding then lightly glazed with a deep chestnut color. What do you think?

I was tickled (a word my grandmother would have used) to find this set of four shutters. A few months ago, I found another set of shutters, approximatley six feet long. The set of four measures approximatley thirty inches - perfect for shelves! Now to get them all attached with some screws.

My boys were worried that the paint was coming off while washing and the shutters would look terrible in photos. I assured them that this was exactly what we wanted. They've got some painting to do - lots of painting this summer. We'll all enjoy it.

Now for some very old doll beds. Aren't these amazing? They were tucked under a table, covered in webs, completely forgotten. Maybe they were hiding just for me?

The beds desperately need some cleaning, but gently so. The wear on these that has come with age is something which I know I can't truly replicate with sandpaper.

I'm always in need of an iced tea glass, so glasses are something that I'm often looking for. These are just perfect for sipping some iced tea at the end of the day, watching the puppies run about the yard, and waiting for the fireflies to begin lighting the sky.

Don't you love the aqua and gold?

It really has been a busy week with our flea market hunting, but I'll have to save more for another post. I've got a hot date with two old cabinets that are waiting for me to arrive and wisk them away from their corner at the antique mall. They'll be getting a touch of paint also.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

ActivitiesMeet President and Mrs. Abraham LincolnVisit Union and Confederate encampmentsObserve artilery, cavalry, and infantry drillsWatch blacksmithing and embalming demonstrationsVisit period sutlersListen to musicSample food from vendorsTake part in a scavenger hunt for children

Scheduled EventsCivil War battle reenactments on Saturday at 3pm and Sunday at 1pmNight cannon firing at 9pm Saturday nightA period wedding at noon on Saturday followed by a 1pm ladies' tea and wedding reception1860s church service and memorial ceremony at 9am Sunday morning